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How a Chinese food delivery rider won literary prize 
20 Jul 2026

Wang Jibing, a 56-year-old food delivery rider from Jiangsu province in China, has won the prestigious Lu Xun Literary Prize.

His winning entry is a poetry collection titled Low Flight (2024), which sheds light on the daily struggles of delivery riders in China's gig economy.

The award is named after Lu Xun, often regarded as the father of modern Chinese literature.

Wang wrote many of these poems on small pieces of paper while delivering food.

Wang's literary journey and inspiration for 'Low Flight'
Poet's path

Wang, who started his career as a delivery rider in 2019, had been posting poems and essays on social media for years.

His love for literature remained strong despite his tough life as an odd job worker.

The inspiration for Low Flight came from interviews with around 200 delivery riders, highlighting their experiences and challenges in the gig economy.

Viral poem and career milestone
Poet's debut

In 2022, one of Wang's poems, Man in a Hurry, went viral after he recounted a frustrating delivery experience from 2019. The following year, he published his first poetry collection with the same name, as per the BBC.

Despite winning the award, Wang has no plans to quit his job as a food delivery rider. "Financially, I don't need this job to make a living," he said.

Blue-collar workers in China's literary scene
Literary shift

Wang's win comes amid a trend of blue-collar workers making their mark in China's literary scene.

Hu Anyan's memoir I Deliver Parcels in Beijing was a bestseller and even got an English translation.

Another autobiographical essay, I am Fan Yusu, about a migrant worker's struggle, went viral in 2017.

The Lu Xun Literary Prize doesn't publicly disclose its monetary awards, but it was 1,00,000 Chinese yuan ($14,800) as of 2014.